New Bike Hesitating / Sputtering

[treytexag_imp]

The service manager said the plugs were fouled. Now I pulled the left two plugs myself an hour before I dropped it off, and they looked OK to me. Certainly NOT fouled, but I'm not a certified Honda mechanic, so what do I know? :-)

I don't believe they have done anything other than confirm its not running right and ordered new plugs. But yes, new bike, new Honda warranty. Feeling confident that no matter the problem, Honda will take care of it.
Oh, and the bike was not out of a crate. Been sitting on the showroom floor over the winter they said . . .

Quick update on this gents. Bike has been at a local Honda dealer for repair since Monday, and they confirmed bike running rough and misfiring on one or more cylinders - this on a bike with five zero miles on the odo (had 26 on it when I bought it new . . . ). They've ordered plugs to begin the diagnosis, and said the new plugs won't arrive until perhaps next week. After installing new plugs, they said they would continue the diagnosis.

So we'll see what happens. Surely I'm disappointed since this is a brand new bike with a brand new price, but I'm hoping for the best. Cautiously optimistic this will be an easy fix.

Will keep you posted.

Darn the bad luck! No plugs to be had locally so she sits at the dealer you did not buy from? Nobody pulled them, cleaned and regaped them but instead it is "confirmed" what everyone knew already, that she hesitates and sputters and so she sits waiting for parts "on order", namely plugs? I did not realize our CB plugs were so unique or that the plugs go bad sitting for six months or that it is best procedure not to pull them and look at them but instead to park your bike waiting for "parts on order" and "perhaps" they will get in next week. Perhaps not. Imagine that. I suspect the plugs will take longer than that to "get in, sorry", says the shop manager, "must be the dock strike on the West Coast", they say.

Darn the bad luck! No plugs to be had locally so she sits at the dealer you did not buy from? Nobody pulled them, cleaned and regaped them but instead it is "confirmed" what everyone knew already, that she hesitates and sputters and so she sits waiting for parts "on order", namely plugs? I did not realize our CB plugs were so unique or that the plugs go bad sitting for six months or that it is best procedure not to pull them and look at them but instead to park your bike waiting for "parts on order" and "perhaps" they will get in next week. Perhaps not. Imagine that. I suspect the plugs will take longer than that to "get in, sorry", says the shop manager, "must be the dock strike on the West Coast", they say.
Your suggested narrative has entered my thoughts. Hoping that's not the case though. . . .

I agree. But remember, you don't have it at "Honda". "Honda" manufactures, they don''t own that dealership. Still, this dealer will get to it. Perhaps he is simply getting over a large spring maintenence backlog on their customer's bikes, four wheelers and such.

I agree. But remember, you don't have it at "Honda". "Honda" manufactures, they don''t own that dealership. Still, this dealer will get to it. Perhaps he is simply getting over a large spring maintenence backlog on their customer's bikes, four wheelers and such.
BTW and as an aside, not that it matters though, I had a chat with the Service Manager about the situation. He knows that I was not able to buy from him or any other local Houston dealer since none of the Houston dealers had any DLX's to sell. I explained that I had to look hard for this one - true story - and at the time about three weeks back, this was the only new DLX I could find in Texas.

Again, not sure that matters. I wouldn't be surprised if service was "quicker" for customers who've bought from them, but again, I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. So far, I like the Service Manager, seems to be an OK bloke, so again, I want to be cautiously optimistic.

Hoping they can figure it out, and fix 'er up, then I can begin putting some miles on my beautiful new CB1100 DLX!!!

;-)

BTW, it is sure looking to be some pretty springtime riding weather 'round here lately - on days it's not raining anyway . . . .

[xNE0x_imp]

treytexag, I wish you the best. But fouled plugs at that low of miles? I still stand by what I said initially. Someone reefed on it pretty good, and you are probably experiencing a compression loss in multiple cylinders. Of course, I could be way off here. But that's what my gut is telling me if there is no unusual noise or piston slap coming from the engine.

[NightRider_imp]

Maybe somebody said this already, but i would first suspect the gas in the tank is old, while mine sat I bought a cheap siphon from walmart and an extra gas can, drained the old into an empty old gas can and with the new gas can I bought new gas, non-ethanol, and filled it up and idled for ten minutes. Now that's it's spring, I would ride it and run a tank through to see if that fixes it. I'd get my bike back from the dealer and ask them to call me when the plugs get in and then try this on my own. Luck with it and well wishes.

[redbirds_imp]

The dealer may suspect that one or more of the new plugs may be defective. This is a rare occurrence for sure but not unheard of. If his initial inspection has not come up with anything obvious this might be the next logical step. A compression check would be a good idea and may have been done already by the dealer as it would be easy to do on the CB. Maybe a defective injector or coil.

Glad your bike is under warranty. Good luck to you.

[kDiqq_imp]

You know, there is a chance plugs are fouled. If you're having injector/sensor problems on those two cylinders causing it to dump fuel, it will end up fouling plugs AND will cause a HUGE spike in your catalyst temp... Who knows!?

[treytexag_imp]

I just got off the phone with the Service Manager - he does not have my plugs yet. Since I found 8 in stock at a nearby Honda dealer, I asked him if he wanted me to go get them. He said he would "track" the ones he ordered and call me back. In the meantime, I asked him what the technicians have checked so far. He said they confirmed that each cylinder had fuel and fire - so that is something. He said they did not check compression, but that it seemed OK.

He said the thought was, and this of course is just a theory at this point, is that gas got old sitting in the tank while the bike was on the showroom floor for a few months, and then when it was initially fired up, the bad gas fouled the plugs at that point.

I don't know if this is a likely scenario, I'm not a trained Honda tech. Anyway, we certainly cannot proceed until he gets 4 new plugs, so hopefully that can happen soon.

Team, y'all been great here - really appreciate the support. I'm still loving my new "not-currently-in-my-garage-for-me-to-look-at" CB1100 DLX . . . . ;-)

[LiveToRide_imp]

You're lot more patient than I am. I think my head would explode if this happened to me.

[mininsx_imp]

Bad gas is entirely possible (and likely). I've seen injectors on VWs not spray an even spray pattern from dirty gas at low RPM, but spray fine at higher RPM, and a "sputtering" injector could foul the plug since the gas isn't vaporizing properly. They should know what they're doing, so see how it runs when you get it back.

[treytexag_imp]

LiveToRide, rest assured, I'm not happy about the situation with my new CB1100 DLX. However, being a "fixer" at work, I'm well aware that me "exploding" or ranting at Honda or the repair guys won't help the situation. So I'm doing my best to be patient.

Chatting with y'all here does help for sure, and perusing the beautiful pics and mods on this board is keeping me going . . .

:-)

[DGShannon_imp]

I just got off the phone with the Service Manager - he does not have my plugs yet. Since I found 8 in stock at a nearby Honda dealer, I asked him if he wanted me to go get them. He said he would "track" the ones he ordered and call me back. In the meantime, I asked him what the technicians have checked so far. He said they confirmed that each cylinder had fuel and fire - so that is something. He said they did not check compression, but that it seemed OK.

He said the thought was, and this of course is just a theory at this point, is that gas got old sitting in the tank while the bike was on the showroom floor for a few months, and then when it was initially fired up, the bad gas fouled the plugs at that point.

I don't know if this is a likely scenario, I'm not a trained Honda tech. Anyway, we certainly cannot proceed until he gets 4 new plugs, so hopefully that can happen soon.

Team, y'all been great here - really appreciate the support. I'm still loving my new "not-currently-in-my-garage-for-me-to-look-at" CB1100 DLX . . . . ;-)

No guarantee that the gas was even fresh when it first went in. I would guess that dealers keep gas around for fueling new bikes. Then, the bike sat for roughly 6 months with the gas in it. Ethanol absorbs moisture, which settles to the bottom. You finally show up to buy her, and she is trying her best to run on watered down swill. Very likely that the injectors and plugs suffered in the process. Hopefully, they will have you on the road soon.